PFAS Contamination & Testing Explained

PFAS testing is essential for understanding the widespread presence of “forever chemicals” in the environment. While often associated with drinking water or food packaging, PFAS also contaminates soil, and consequently, the food we eat. 

Fortunately, advanced testing methods can detect PFAS with high accuracy across various sample types. This guide explores a selection of these methods for identifying PFAS in different matrices, helping individuals and industries understand how to reduce exposure risks.

Table of Contents: 

• What Are PFAS?
• What Are the Health Effects of PFAS?
• Where Are PFAS Found?
• How to Test for PFAS
• Key Takeaways

What Are PFAS?

PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, make up a class of thousands of compounds. PRAS structure is characterized by a carbon backbone that is partially or fully fluorinated. EPA’s CompTox database currently contains over 14,000 PFAS compounds with explicit chemical structure and just under 2,000 compounds without explicit structures.[1]

Furthermore, there is evidence that unmonitored, emerging PFAS are increasing over time.[2] PFAS have been detected in all parts of the physical environment — air, water, and soil — around the world, even in very remote locations. This is especially concerning due to the various adverse health impacts associated with many PFAS compounds and their resistance to degradation.

PFAS have been in production since the 1950s and are used in a variety of applications due to their unique chemical properties: they are resistant to water, oil, and heat, and nearly indestructible. These properties make them excellent compounds to use in industrial processes, fire fighting foams, and a variety of consumer products (waterproof coatings on clothing, stain resistant coatings on furniture, non-stick coatings on cookware, oil-proof coating in food packaging, etc.). 

These same properties also lead to their persistence in the environment and bioaccumulation in humans and animals. PFAS have been detected in the blood plasma of 98% of people in the US [3], and in animals in locations as far flung as the Arctic.[4]

A recent draft risk assessment highlights the dangers of PFOS and PFOA in sewage sludge, particularly when used as fertilizer or disposed of on land. Contaminated wastewater from industrial and household sources contributes to PFAS-laden biosolids. With these biosolids potentially applied to 18% of U.S. farmland — around 70 million acres — this raises serious concerns about PFAS contamination in soil, crops, livestock, and water through agricultural runoff, making testing for PFAS more instrumental than ever before.[5]

What Are the Health Effects of PFAS?

Research into the health effects of PFAS compounds is rapidly evolving, but the following adverse health impacts from many PFAS compounds are supported by epidemiological and/or animal studies:[7,8,9]

• Increased risk of certain cancers, including liver, pancreatic, kidney and testicular
• Developmental effects, such as low birth weight
• Immune system impacts, including reduced response to vaccines
• Increased cholesterol levels
• Hormone disruption
• Liver and kidney toxicity
• Pregnancy-induced hypertension

PFAS Regulation

PFAS regulations exist for certain compounds at the federal level in drinking water, hazardous waste, and food contact materials. Otherwise, they are regulated at the state level (or not at all). 

State-level regulations include PFAS bans or restrictions in the following:[10] 

• Biosolids
• Food packaging
• Products for infants and children
• Women’s menstrual products
• Firefighting foams
• Pesticides
• Surface water
• Air 

This leads to a patchwork of regulations across the country that are wholly inadequate to meet the challenge of minimizing exposure and, consequently, health risk.

Where Are PFAS Found?

PFAS are found just about everywhere, including:[11,12]

• Drinking water
• Food (and food packaging)
• Consumer products, including stain-resistant fabrics, carpets, non-stick cookware and sealants
• Household dust
• Personal care products, including dental floss
• Biosolids
• Soil and water near contaminated sites, including landfills
• Manufacturing facilities
• Fire fighting foams

PFAS Exposure

Contaminated drinking water and food are the largest sources of PFAS exposure for most people, outside of occupational exposures (e.g., firefighting, working in chemical manufacturing or processing). PFAS in food can be a result of PFAS contamination of biosolids upstream or from contact with PFAS in the process of production, preparation or distribution (e.g. food packaging).

You may also be exposed via ingestion of contaminated soil or dust (especially for infants and children), breathing contaminated air, or using products made with or packaged in materials made with PFAS.[11]

How to Avoid PFAS

The pervasiveness of PFAS across environmental matrices makes it difficult to avoid all exposure risks. You can, however, avoid some significant sources in order to cut down on your overall exposure. 

1. Avoid food packaged in grease-resistant paper (e.g., microwave popcorn, fast food). In addition, making sure that your cookware does not have PFAS-based coatings will reduce your exposure. Either choose alternatives to non-stick cookware, or make sure that your non-stick cookware coating is free of all PFAS (not just individual compounds like PFOA). 
2. Avoid PFAS in clothing, furniture, furniture, carpeting and other textiles. This can be challenging as many products do not list chemicals used in production. Any material that claims to be water-, stain- or grease-resistant may be treated with PFAS. 
3. Drinking water can be a significant source of PFAS, especially in areas with known contamination. You can treat your water at the household scale to ensure that your exposure to PFAS from your drinking water is minimal.

While regulations around PFAS use and disposal may fall short of protecting public health, well-vetted analytical methods have been developed to detect and quantify PFAS in a variety of matrices.

How to Test for PFAS

Testing for PFAS requires sending a sample to an analytical laboratory, regardless of what you’re testing — water, soil, food, etc. There is no way to quickly test for PFAS at home with a test strip or small testing kit without sending the sample to a lab for analysis.

PFAS Testing Methods

Testing methods for PFAS can vary by matrix and by the specificity of the analysis. There are three main types of testing to understand:

1. Targeted analysis, where specific compounds are being measured (e.g. PFOA)
2. Non-targeted analysis, where any compounds with specific features (carbon-fluorine bonds) are analyzed to identify previously unknown compounds
3. Screening methods, measuring more general parameters (e.g. total organic fluorine)

Targeted Analysis

This method can typically be applied to any matrix, though sample preparation steps and sensitivities may differ across matrices. These methods generally involve solid phase extraction (SPE) as part of sample preparation, and analysis via liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

Various EPA PFAS testing methods using these techniques, including EPA 533, 537, 537.1 and 1633, can be used for quantifying between 25 and 40 PFAS compounds in drinking water, surface water, nonpotable water, soil and solids.[13,14]

Why Choose This Kit?

The EPA 1633 PFAS test kit includes all 40 compounds listed in the EPA 1633 method for soil analysis of PFAS. Analysis is always performed at a certified laboratory following strict ISO 17025 standards, ensuring accurate and precise results in an easy-to-understand report. This test is intended for 1 single soil sample. It is suitable for homeowners, farmers, and environmental professionals concerned about PFAS exposure in soil.

There are also similar targeted analyses used for food, beverage and supplement samples, such as C-010.02 (an FDA-approved method using SPE and LC-MS/MS to identify 30 PFAS compounds).

Why Choose This Kit?

The PFAS Food Test - 20A kit covers 20 compounds using FDA method C-010.02 for PFAS analysis in food. Analysis is always performed at a certified laboratory following strict standards, ensuring accurate and precise results in an easy-to-understand report. This test is intended for 1 single food sample and is suitable when there's a potential for contamination from sources like contaminated food packaging, or if you're consuming foods that are known to accumulate PFAS.

Another well known technique used in conjunction with targeted analyses to quantify PFAS precursor compounds in a sample is called the TOP Assay, or total oxidizable precursor assay. 

A precursor compound is a compound that can transform from its initial state into a PFAS compound under environmentally relevant conditions. Briefly, targeted analysis is used to quantify specific PFAS compounds in a sample, the TOP assay is then applied wherein precursor compounds are oxidized into target PFAS analytes, the targeted analysis is then run again and the difference in results is attributed to precursor compounds.[15]

Non-targeted Analysis (NTA)

NTA methods utilize high resolution mass spectrometry to scan for and identify unknown compounds in a sample. NTA can identify previously unknown PFAS compounds in a variety of sample matrices.[16] A significant amount of work is required to later identify the full chemical structures of the unknown compounds. 

As a result, NTA is most often a method used in research to discover new compounds, as opposed to in commercial labs to support consumers making decisions about exposure risks.

Screening Methods

These are neither targeted analyses nor NTA. Rather, these methods measure more general parameters, like total organic fluorine (TOF), that serve as an indicator of total PFAS concentrations. While the concentration of total organic fluorine in a sample cannot be directly converted to concentrations of specific PFAS compounds, it can be compared between samples and is also interpreted in many contexts as indicating whether or not PFAS were intentionally added to a product (rather than being introduced accidentally as a contaminant during manufacturing, for example). 

TOF methods can be applied to many matrices, from aqueous to solid (e.g., textiles, food packaging, plastics, etc). For example, California considers TOF concentrations exceeding 100 PPM in food packaging to be added intentionally by the manufacturer, which is currently illegal.[17]

Key Takeaways

• PFAS are pervasive in our homes and environment, leading to a variety of exposure routes. Due to their well-supported adverse health impacts, it is important to be aware of and minimize exposures where possible. 
• The pervasiveness of PFAS across environmental matrices makes it difficult to avoid all exposure risks. You can, however, avoid:
• Food packaged in grease-resistant paper and non-stick cookware
• PFAS in clothing, furniture, furniture, carpeting and other textiles
• Drinking untreated water in areas with known PFAS contamination
• Because PFAS are so common, laboratory testing options, like those by SimpleLab, are the best first step toward mitigating your exposure risks.